One dies in suicide hit on Ahmadiya worship place

MARDAN At least two persons, a suicide bomber and another person, were killed while four people including three security guards got seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack on a house of worship of the Ahmadiya community located in the city. According to the official sources and eyewitness, the suicide attacker wanted to enter the worship place located at the street No 2 Muslimabad Canal Road Rambagh Mardan and target the people busy in offering prayer. He threw the hand grenade on the security guards performing duty there but it failed to detonate diffused. The suicide bomber then threw another hand grenade towards security guards. Meanwhile, the security guards started firing but the suicide bomber blew himself before entering the worship house. As a result the leader of Ahmadiyya community, Sheikh Amir Raza, died while security guards identified as Dr Karim, Sheikh Imran and Fahim and another person Abdul Salam who also belonged to Ahmadiyya community got seriously injured. They were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Mardan where their condition is stated out of danger. Eyewitness told that a seventeen-year old boy who was wearing black clothes wanted to enter the place of worship and security guards started firing on him and then he blew himself in the street. It is to be noted that Ahmadiyya community is living in this area and they have made their worship place in a house and people who belong to the Ahmadiyya community go there from all over the city for prayer on Friday. It is pertinent to mention here that in the past, too, unidentified militants targeted the shops of Ahmadiyya community at Bikat Ganj Bazaar. People belonging to Ahmadiyya community told that unknown people had been giving threats to them, prompting them to take proper security arrangements of their place of worship. District Police Office (DPO) Mardan Haji Waqif Khan while speaking on this occasion said that security was on high alert and due to which suicide bomber did not succeed in hitting his target. He told that the suicide bomber was wearing suicide jacket containing 7kg to 8kg explosive material. He said that security was put on high alert and search operation had been started in the area. No militant group has accepted the responsibility of the incident till filling of the report.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt